Here is a little history: The first State of the Union speech was delivered by President Washington in January 1790.
President Jefferson started the tradition of the written statement in 1801. It stayed that way until President Wilson in 1913.
President Coolidge was the first one heard on radio in 1923.
President Truman delivered the one on TV in 1947.
Finally, President Johnson put it on prime time TV in 1966.
I think I've watched most of them since President Nixon. President Clinton's speech in the middle of the impeachment trial was bizarre.
